Brisbane Bronco Sam Thaiday, Australian acting legend John Howard, ‘All Our Exes Live in Texas’ band member Katie Wighton, and Melissa Downes of 9News have all rallied behind a call for the QLD State Government to prioritise funding for a new Performing Arts Centre for Kedron State High School.
The current Performing Arts Centre in Kedron State High School is 61 years old. At present, it can no longer accommodate the needs of the school’s award-winning Performing Arts and Music Department. A new hall will also benefit the outside community because the hall can serve as venue for concerts, events, meetings, and other community events.
A petition for a new hall has actually been lodged in October 2017 but has only been able to acquire 500 signatures to date. The petition will close on the 30th of March.
To raise more awareness to the said petition, Australian professional rugby league footballer Thaiday agreed to appear in a campaign video that is now going viral in the internet.
The video demonstrated that the size, technology, and practicality of the old performing arts hall can no longer accommodate the increasing members of the Performing Arts and Music Department as well as concerts, events, meetings, competitions, and similar community events.
Credit: Jack Greentree YouTube
In media interviews, School P&C President Tony Howell said the students of the graduating class of 2016 asked Thaiday if he will be willing to appear in the campaign video. The same class co-starred with Thaiday in the video. They also shot and edited the film.
The school could not thank Thaiday enough for agreeing to the offer. He is not a former student in the school and only said yes in order to give back to the community.
The school has also expressed its gratitude to Ms Downes of 9News for visiting the school page and sharing the campaign video.
The same gratitude has been given to Ms Wighton, a former student at the school, who went out of her way to record a video showing her support for a new Performing Arts Centre at Kedron.
Mr Howard, for his part, has been active in posting about the campaign. He has also shared the campaign video which starred Thaiday.
Mr Howell told media that the school has raised a few thousand dollars. However, the new hall they have in mind will cost around $8-10 million.
Everyone is encouraged to support the campaign for the Performing Arts Centre in Kedron by liking its official Facebook page here and sharing the video which can be found here.
Anyone is also welcome to sign the petition here.
